Whoosh. Thud.
As the sounds of aircraft landing echoed across New United States territory, Melonda watched the scene with a strange glint in his eyes, then slowly walked toward the central aircraft bearing the European Space Agency insignia.
At that moment, the aircraft door slowly opened, and a white-haired elderly man in a gray European Space Agency uniform stepped out. He looked sharp and full of vigor.
A terrifying scar ran across his left eye, which had been replaced with a blue cybereye, and his body bore numerous traces of cyberware modifications.
"General Euland, I didn't expect the European Space Agency would send you personally."
Melonda looked at Euland, his tone carrying a deeper meaning.
"This new force is coming in hard. If they hadn't sent me, and the New United States really got swallowed up, that wouldn't be ideal."
Euland shook his head calmly as he spoke, his words carrying a faint sting aimed at Melonda.
"Haha, let's wait and see. I heard the European Space Agency even tried to recruit PROJECT before?"
"We're all seasoned players here, so drop the pretense. The situation in the New United States isn't looking good, is it? Tell me, which areas need our support the most?"
Euland let out a sigh and went straight to the point.
After a brief silence, Melonda also shifted to business.
"Yes, our situation is extremely bad. PROJECT's sudden assault, combined with their so-called Jellyfish System, left us with no effective defense. The outer cities in those states have basically all fallen."
Euland's expression immediately turned serious. Forces already inside the country and those still outside were two completely different situations.
"The officials in those states... have they sided with PROJECT corporation?"
"From what we can tell... yes."
Melonda nodded calmly, though a strong killing intent could still be seen in his eyes.
"What about their troops? Can they be used?"
"They can, but we need to break through PROJECT's network blockade first. That's the most critical issue right now. Our side can barely hold the Firewall, and we're losing a significant number of netrunners every day."
Melonda nodded. And those "losses" were very real. The method was to push netrunners to their absolute limits, forcing them to run at extreme capacity. Even computers burn out when overclocked, let alone human brains.
This method had managed to block PROJECT's attacks for now, but it was only temporary. Their number of netrunners was limited.
"Don't worry. We've reached a partnership with NetWatch. Their people will handle this, and our Intelligence Center will assist as well."
"That's a relief."
Melonda finally let out a breath. At last, some good news.
"Now we need to find a way to contact the forces in those states, get them organized to resist PROJECT first, and then..."
Boom. Boom.
Suddenly, two extremely distinct Mach rings appeared high in the sky. Melonda and Euland were both stunned for a moment. When they looked up, Euland's cybernetic eye immediately locked onto the incoming figures.
"That's... the massive mecha that destroyed the Arasaka fleet before?!"
Whoosh.
A terrifying tearing sound echoed overhead as the enormous body of the Tyrant Sword Demon Unit came to a halt in midair. Its immense shadow blanketed a vast area below, bringing with it an overwhelming sense of pressure.
"Notify everyone. Prepare for combat. Calibrate the energy repulsors we developed earlier!"
After disabling his cybernetic eye's enhanced view, Euland immediately issued calm orders to his subordinates. The energy repulsor was a bulky device with massive energy consumption. Its function was to release a special energy wave to neutralize other energy fluctuations within the area.
It was mainly used to counter PROJECT's energy weapons and shields, though it had a long startup time and was single-use. Even so, it was currently their best method to deal with PROJECT's far more advanced weaponry.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Very quickly, ground-to-air missile launchers on the New United States side fired missiles toward the Tyrant Sword Demon Unit.
Boom.
A terrifying surge of energy spread outward the moment the missiles struck its body.
Whoosh.
However, the Tyrant Sword Demon Unit simply reached out and pulled sharply to the side. A violent gust instantly blew away the smoke, revealing a body completely unharmed by the attack.
It then adjusted its posture, paused briefly midair, and dove straight downward.
Whoosh.
Seeing this, the people below instantly fell into chaos. Both Euland and Melonda could no longer maintain their composure and immediately ran toward relatively safe areas nearby.
Boom!
The moment the Tyrant Sword Demon Unit landed, massive columns of dirt and sand shot into the air, each towering over a hundred meters. When everything settled, the crowd realized it hadn't landed directly inside their base.
"Hmph... haha... HAHAHAHAHA!!! Look at how pathetic you are. It's hard not to laugh. Entertain me as much as you can, hahahahaha!!!"
As the Sword Demon's signature voice echoed across the battlefield, the deafening sound was matched by the grim expressions of everyone from the New United States and the European Space Agency.
"He even installed such a massive speaker system on this thing?!"
Melonda looked up at the Tyrant Sword Demon Unit in the distance, grinding his teeth. The fact that they could hear it so clearly from this far away meant the sound system on it was enormous.
"What's wrong with your air defense system?! How did something this big reach the base at this speed without you noticing anything?!"
Euland demanded, his hair disheveled.
Melonda's face twisted in frustration. What was he supposed to say? That under PROJECT's technological blockade, much of the New United States had effectively been blinded?
"Do not stop the attack. Deploy the Electromagnetic Railgun!"
Whoosh.
At the command, a massive Electromagnetic Railgun slowly rose within the base, a bright orange-red glow gathering at its muzzle.
At the same time, countless missiles launched into the sky and rained down onto the Tyrant Sword Demon Unit's energy shield, creating ripples that spread outward, yet none truly reached its body.
Whoosh.
Soon, the Electromagnetic Railgun finished charging. A terrifying orange beam flashed across the battlefield, shooting toward the Tyrant Sword Demon Unit at a speed impossible to track with the naked eye.
Whoosh.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion followed. Two massive bursts of white light lit up in the distance behind the Tyrant Sword Demon Unit, illuminating its colossal form holding the sword.
"He cut the projectile in half with his sword?!"
Boom!
Immediately after, the Tyrant Sword Demon Unit's massive blade slammed down toward the base.
Whoosh.
A violent shockwave instantly whipped Melonda and Euland's hair into disarray.
"Ants... daring to stand beside gods? Enjoy your final moments, until his arrival."
After speaking, the AI controlling the Tyrant Sword Demon Unit let out a contemptuous laugh. It cast one last disdainful glance at the base below, leaving behind a massive sword scar, then spread its wings and flew off.